In the fourth week of September 2025, average spot container freight rates continued to show clear signs of weakness. The World Container Index, released by Drewry on 25 September, registered a further 8% fall in the composite index (covering all routes), reaching 1,761 dollars per feu and marking the fifteenth consecutive week of decline. The downward trend is being driven mainly by routes from Asia to Europe and the United States, while the Atlantic shows relatively stronger resilience.
On China–Europe services, rates have dropped below the 2,000-dollar threshold per feu. The Shanghai–Rotterdam route fell to 1,735 dollars, down 9% on the previous week and 58% year on year, while Shanghai–Genoa declined to 1,990 dollars, a weekly drop of 7% and an annual decrease of 53%. The return leg Rotterdam–Shanghai showed a slight recovery, rising to 461 dollars, a 1% increase on the week but still 23% lower than in 2022. The fall in demand ahead of China’s Golden Week, which will shut factories for eight days from 1 October, is already having a direct impact on flows. Shipping lines have announced blank sailings to adjust capacity, but this is not enough to reverse a trend that was only briefly interrupted in early September, when GRIs and cancellations produced a short-lived rise in rates.
On the transpacific, downward pressure is even more evident. Rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles fell to 2,311 dollars per feu, a 10% drop compared to the previous week and 58% lower year on year, while Shanghai–New York stood at 3,278 dollars, down 8% week on week and 46% year on year. In the opposite direction, Los Angeles–Shanghai remained largely unchanged at 716 dollars, down just 1% from the previous week and at the same level as twelve months ago. This indicates that, unlike the headhaul trades, the Pacific backhaul has not seen major structural changes, suggesting a relatively stable balance between available capacity and US export demand.
The picture is more mixed on transatlantic routes, where corrections have been more limited and annual figures diverge. Rotterdam–New York fell to 1,819 dollars, down 6% on the week and 12% year on year. In the reverse direction, New York–Rotterdam held steady at 842 dollars, just 1% lower than the previous week but 17% higher than in 2022. This is the only annual increase among the main routes surveyed, confirming the relative strength of US export demand to Europe.
According to Drewry’s Container Forecaster, the outlook will remain fragile over the coming quarters. The balance between supply and demand is expected to weaken further, and the capacity cuts and sailing cancellations introduced by carriers are unlikely to be sufficient to reverse the trend. The forecast therefore points to a continued contraction in spot rates, especially on the Asia–Europe and Asia–US trades.
